Ghost Month

It is now ghost month in Hong Kong. For those of you who don’t know what ghost month is, it is the time of year when the locals build huge shrines (one down the street from my apartment is the size of a small house in America) and burn various articles, including incense and paper figures modeled to look like everyday items such as cars, computers, and money. They do this to satiate the ghosts who live in their neighborhood and keep the ghosts from bothering the living until the next time ghost month rolls around.

Coming from 21^st century America, it is shocking to see how many people still believe in and practice something that would be brushed of as mere superstition back home. Viewing the practice as a Christian, it is saddening to see so many people living in fear and turning to setting fires to try to calm their fears. Seeing the practice has made me think about the wonders of the gospel and how it is so greatly superior to religion in two key ways:

Fear: Religions keep people trapped and following a lie through fear. For the locals during ghost month, this fear is that if they don’t do their duty, the ghosts will plague them over the next year. For some who claim to be Christians but in reality only pursue moralistic religion, this fear is a fear that God is out to get them and will unleash His anger upon them if they fail to attend church or read their Bible for a day.

The gospel frees us from fear by telling us that we absolutely deserve this punishment from God, but that because of His love He poured out our due punishment upon Himself on the cross. God gave His own life for us. He has proven that He is not anxious to trap us and get us as soon as we give Him a chance. We have each given Him thousands of chances to “get us” in situations where we truly deserve the punishment because of our sin. The gospel reminds us that rather than punishing us, God has loved and accepted us. Because of this truth, we are free to follow Him not out of fear of what will happen if we mess up, but rather out of thanks for the love that He has already shown us.

Works-Based Righteousness: Every religion, at its core, teaches that we, by being good enough, earn our way to our goal (whether that is heaven, Valhalla, Nirvana, etc.). In ghost month, the goal is to avoid the ghosts of the dead bothering the living, so the living perform works (burning various items) in order to satiate the ghosts and keep them away for a while. The problem with this is that nobody can ever do enough to “make it.” Even if the locals in Hong Kong burn enough incense this year to keep the ghosts away, there is no way to know that they will have the same luck next year. Someone counting on their good works for acceptance before God can go months or years without any “major sins,” but all of that “goodness” can be undone (at least in this person’s mind) by one “major failure” tomorrow.

The gospel frees us from this endless pursuit. On the cross, Jesus bore all our sins. There is literally nothing we can do to add to His work and contribute to our own salvation. All we can do is receive His gift. And the gospel doesn’t leave us stuck in a state of confusion, wondering whether Jesus’ death was sufficient. The resurrection is God’s seal of approval upon Jesus’ sacrifice. It is the proof that the debt we owed has been paid in full, that the work is finished once and for all.

Please pray for the city of Hong Kong, that its people would see the liberating power of the gospel, that they would believe it, and that they would be freed from the religions and superstitions that keep them trapped for now.

Gospel Preaching Doesn't Solve All Your Problems

Over the years, I have come into close contact with multiple churches whose preaching on Sundays was filled with the preacher’s opinion and pop psychology rather than the gospel. As I observed these churches, I saw a number of issues in them:

•  A lack of new believers hearing and believing the gospel coming into the church
• Membership rosters that were stagnant not only in numbers, but also in maturity
•  Debt that prohibited the church from being able to use its money in missional and gospel-centered ways
•  A fear of doing anything that could move the church forward in its mission and/or a desire cut effective ministries because of fears that the church couldn’t handle the financial burden

I had always compared these churches to the big and famous ones I would hear about—the ones whose preachers write books that get published and speak at big conferences. I assumed that where the gospel was preached faithfully, things just fell into place. The problem—one I didn’t realize until recently—is that the big and famous churches aren’t perfect. They have issues just like all the other churches, they just don’t get discussed as much in books and at conferences because there is enough good stuff happening at these churches that they can keep the conversations focused on the good stuff.

As I have thought about it more, I realized that my assumption about gospel-centered preaching fixing all the problems in a church is wrong for a number of reasons, including:

• God never promises that gospel-centered preaching will fix all the problems in a church
• The church is still made up of sinners
•  God opens people's eyes to believe and live in line with His truth, not great preachers
• Gospel preaching doesn't guarantee gospel application
•  Even the early church, under the leadership of the apostles, wasn't perfect, even though the gospel was clearly preaches to them repeatedly. Why should we be different?

As I thought about it more, I realized that gospel-centered preaching actually brings a number of problems (or ‘problems’) to a church that don’t exist when the gospel isn’t preached faithfully. These include:

• The gospel is at the root of all true heart change. People with problems are drawn to what will fix them. If we preach the gospel, people with problems will come for healing. Our churches will become populated with people with problems if we faithfully preach the gospel.
• Where the gospel is preached, people are saved. People getting saved means immature/new believers (who likely have a long way still to go in their sanctification) populating our churches—along with all their issues
• Where the gospel is preached, Satan wants the message stopped. He will fight against the proclamation of the gospel and do all he can to stop it going out. When the gospel is faithfully preached in our churches, we are inviting attacks from Satan.
• When people get saved, churches grow. Growth adds a whole new level of planning for things such as: how do we disciple new believers? How do we fit into our space on Sunday? How do we address the increased staffing needs in our church due to the growth? Where do we find more volunteers? How do we make sure our church maintains its vision and missional focus through this growth?
• Where the gospel is preached, people respond. This may mean some of the strongest leaders in the church respond to the gospel's call for them to leave our church and go somewhere else where they can have a greater impact for God's kingdom. Faithfully preaching the gospel can cause our best leaders to leave.

GCB

Recently, a friend introduced me to a TV show called “Good Christian Belles.” It was put out by ABC this past spring. The show is built around a prodigal coming home, yet refusing to conform to the culture around her. Amanda, the main character, was strongly disliked in high school for being the popular and incredibly cruel girl, ran off from Dallas (the “holy land”) to California (the “last stop before the Abyss”) years ago, but is now returning because her husband died in a car accident, an event which brought to light the facts that he was cheating on her and stealing billions of dollars from investors. Amanda, left with no job, no money, and no possessions in California, is forced to move back in with her mother in Dallas, which reignites much of the high school drama that she had long left behind—only this time she is the one on the outside. She, in her attempt to provide for her family and raise them in the way she thinks is proper, makes a number of decisions that do not sit well with the surrounding community. The part about the show that is supposed to be the “hook” that draws the audiences is that all the “bad guys” (and girls) are faithful, Bible-slinging churchgoers. They are also the worst set of hypocrites ever to walk the earth. They parade as perfect Christians (and judge others who can’t put on as good a show of being a Christian as they can) while their marriages are falling apart, and they are more marked by their gossip and scheming than by their love.

Although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the show, it has caused me to think about what the unbelieving world believes about Christians. Here’s what I’ve taken away so far:

• They don’t know who we are. The show portrays the church as a group of hypocrites who go to church solely because it is a cultural norm for them, it helps them look good in their circle of friends, and it helps them make and keep business contacts, portrayals which are all too often true of Christians. The problem is that this is the only type of person the show displays as going to church. Nobody is truly repentant for their sin. Nobody truly desires to know Jesus. In fact, thinking back on it, I’m not sure that His name was mentioned once in the episodes I’ve seen so far outside of a context where it was used in a joke. If we expect the world to take the church seriously, we have to show them that those of us in the church are not perfect, but are truly repentant for our sins and do truly want to know Christ. Church cannot be a game for us. 

• They don’t know what we believe. The show primarily displays church as a social springboard and self-help tool. The big message the show teaches is not grace, but karma. In one episode, the church sign has the sermon title, “You reap what you sow” posted on it. Amanda’s son asks her what it means, and Amanda replies, “It’s Texan for karma.” The world doesn’t get grace. It is too big, too powerful, too scary. And the church often doesn’t do a good enough job of clarifying the fact that what we believe is different than karma. If we want to see the unbelieving world believe the Truth, we must be intentional about making sure they understand the gospel as it is, not karma packaged as the Christian message. 

• They don’t understand gospel transformation. All attempts at moral reform in the show are for the sake of personal happiness or for the sake of keeping up appearances in the community. Nobody in the show is led to change by a genuine love of Christ. Nobody in the show truly hates their sin. They do try to make moral changes, but it is for the sake of controlling fate, not for the sake of knowing Christ. If we want an unbelieving world to understand the gospel message, we must let the gospel lead the change in our personal lives, not karma or pride.

It's Back

On my recent trip home, I had a realization—the things that I often take for granted about living in Hong Kong are the things that everyone wants to know about. Boring stuff like what I eat, what I do for fun with friends, how I travel around town, and even the size of my apartment was the source of constant questioning during my time in the States. I realized that stuff I have long stopped viewing as new and exciting (since it has been a part of my everyday life for the past 2 years) is still just as new and exciting to the people back home as it was the day I moved away.

Another thing I heard repeatedly when I was home was questioning about why I stopped writing the blog. I guess there wasn’t one single reason I stopped, more a combination of a bunch of reasons which eventually led to me stopping. Regardless, I have realized that my blog is an important tool for the people I love and care about back home to stay connected to me and know what’s going on in my life, so it’s back. I will try to write a post every week, although I will probably miss some weeks, but hopefully this will once again be an effective way for the people who care about me to stay updated on what I’m doing and thinking on the other side of the world.

Until next week…

Eric

I Know I'm a Slave, But...

Last night, I was talking with friends about our New Year's resolutions. The first three of us who shared mentioned desires to grow in our relationships with God and listed of ways we hoped to accomplish this. The last person to share, also a Christian, led her explanation by saying, "Well, my first resolution doesn't have to do with God." She then explained to us that her goal over the next two years is to build up enough wealth that she will be on the path to financial security for life. Basically, she plans to invest the next two years of her life getting money.

The other three of us in the conversation quickly began telling her that she was making money an idol--that it would never satisfy her, that it would demand more from her than she ever expected, that true security in lfe doesn't come from money, etc. I shared with her a quote from Timothy Keller, who said, "If you live for money, you are a slave." As we said each of these things to our friend, she agreed that they were true. She even went so far as to affirm the statement that she is a slave to money. The other three of us jumped in, saying she doesn't have to live as a slave--the gospel will set her free from her slavery. And then she dropped the big one on us. She told us, "I know I'm a slave, but just let me be a slave for another 2 years and then I'll be ok."

Needless to say, I was shocked. Why would anyone who knows they're a slave to a cruel master such as money and who has the opportunity to be free choose willingly to continue living as a slave? But as I have thought more about it, I have realized that this is an attitude I take toward sin in my own life much more often than I would like to admit. I know that the gospel frees me from the need to find my value in what other people think of me, and I know trying to please all the people around me makes me a slave to their opinions, but I say I'll start living in that truth only as soon as this person approves of me. I enter into a slippery slope, from which the only escape is the gospel--the one thing I am willfully ignoring at that point in time. In the words of Tim Keller, my idol "begins redefining all of reality in terms of itself."

Just as my friend needs the gospel to set her free from her slavery to money, I need the gospel to set me free from all of my idolatrous behaviors. As we go into the new year, may God give me the grace to rest in the gospel and find my identity in Him alone.

Do You Really Believe It?

One of my friends works on the trading floor of a major bank. He knows a lot about investments. He spends his days studying the markets so he can make the best moves that will be the most profitable for his company. He also uses this knowledge to increase his personal wealth. Recently, he was telling me about an investment he made in a company in Africa that has more than doubled in a little over a year. As he described the factors that went into his decision to invest in this company, he made it clear that investing in this company was an easy choice. They serve a large market of people, sell an item that is always in high demand, and the government kept their IPO intentionally low to encourage people to invest in them. My friend described the situation as them “basically giving away free money.”

Now, let’s pretend. Go back a year and a half, before my friend made this investment. He comes to me, tells me about the investment, and I say, “That’s nice. I hope you make lots of money on this one.” Although my response carries the appearance of believing his story, in reality it proves that I don’t truly believe his description of the situation. If I truly believed that what he said about the investment was true, I wouldn’t simply congratulate him on a good find; I’d ask him how I could get in on this investment as well. If I truly believed that my friend’s description was accurate and someone was handing out “free money,” I would do everything reasonably within my power to get my hands on that money.

Far too often, the response of Christianity at large to the existence of hell is like my hypothetical response in this story—we acknowledge belief in it with our mouths, but lead lives that prove we don’t believe it’s real.

I am currently reading George Marsden’s biography of Jonathan Edwards. In the biography, Marsden makes the observation that in Edwards’ opinion, most Christians only believe in hell as an inherited belief. Basically, they’ll say it’s real because it’s in the Bible and their parents or spiritual mentors taught them it’s real, but on a functional level they live on a day-to-day basis as if it wasn’t real. Marsden says that the reason Edwards preached so many sermons that were brutally descriptive of hell is that he wanted his people to constantly remember the reality of hell both so they personally could trust in Christ and be saved from it and so they would live in such a way around their non-Christian friends and relatives that they would point them to Christ as well. This style of teaching has given Edwards a lot of negative press in many circles, but his brutally descriptive teaching was not inspired by a joy in describing the horrors of eternal punishment; it was inspired by a love that desired to keep as many people as possible from having to live that fate. He not only believed that hell was real, but wanted to live his life in such a way that he demonstrated the urgency inspired by the fact that hell is real.

Do your actions back what you say you believe?

Youth Say Some Funny Stuff

In my new job, the group of students I'm responsible for is a slightly younger group than I am used to. Technically, I'm responsible for grade 6 through the end of high school, however there are no students in my church between the ages of 15 and 18, which means I'm in charge of a group of 11 to 14 year olds. Needless to say, with a group this age, some funny lines come out from time to time. Here are some of the highlights so far:

-Tonight during our discussion, I asked each of the youth what one thing is they can do over the course of the next week to follow Jesus in their everyday life. Each took turns sharing, then they decided to recommend ways that I should follow Jesus in the next week. Their suggestion? I need to tell at least 5 people that Jesus loves them... and each of these people has to be smoking as I tell this to them.

-I was talking with some youth about the concept of dying to ourselves and being alive in Christ. I asked these students if they thought their lives would be better or worse if they truly lived this way. One student told me it would be better... but only if he could still play video games.

-During their school break, I took my pastor's 2 middle kids--who are slightly younger than the age range I'm responsible for, but they're close to it--ice skating. After skating, we grabbed some lunch. During our time eating together, this conversation occurred:

Me: So do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

Pastor's daughter: Yes, I want to be a mom, so I can sleep in every day.

Pastor's son: I want to be a cop, because they get to fire guns and drive really fast.

Me (sarcastically to the son): And that's what life is all about, shooting guns and driving fast.

Pastor's son: Yeah, well, that... and drinking beer.

Let's just say there is rarely a dull moment in my life these days.